Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: June 3rd
How I got this book: NetGalley
Playing innocent is easy.
After being the quiet, shy girl her whole life, Elise Markham is ready for a mental makeover. She’s done keeping to herself and staying out of trouble—it’s time to break out of her shell and maybe meet someone intriguing in the process. So, on a photography trip to Bluebonnet, she has a whole lot more on her mind than snapping photos, especially when Rome walks into the picture.
Playing dirty is fun.
The newest instructor at Wilderness Survival Expeditions has a colorful past, to say the least. Having come from a family of notorious con artists that destroyed his credit and reputation, all before his eighteenth birthday, Rome just wants a decent job and a quiet life in a town where no one knows his name. He’s exactly the kind of bad boy that an innocent girl like Elise should stay far away from.
But Elise is tired of doing what’s right. She’s ready to throw caution to the wind—and let Rome show her just how exciting being bad can be…
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I’ve adored everything that Clare has written, but I have to say I wasn’t sure what to expect with a virgin heroine in one of her hottest series to date!
Elise had it rough as a child, with scoliosis and a dark skin patch on her face, she wasn’t regarded as one of the popular kids growing up. She’s shy and insecure and even though she got surgery to fix her scoliosis, and treatment for her skin, she still worries about the way other people see her. Being a shy virgin isn’t easy, especially when the only man she’s attracted to is a bad-boy who works for her brother and has more confidence than Elise could ever dream of having.
Rome wants to start over somewhere new, somewhere that he can forget the past and begin his life with a clean slate. Working at the Survival School is exactly what Rome needs, but the distraction known as Elise isn’t. He can’t seem to stay away from her, especially when she asks Rome to teach her everything he knows about sex. Just when their relationship starts to bud beyond more than sexual education, Rome’s past and Elise’s family step in and try to tear them apart, regardless of the costs.
I have to say, I am pretty damn impressed with the heat level in this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but one of the things I love most about the Bluebonnet series is that Clare doesn’t hold back with the naked time. Her heroines and heroes get themselves into the sexiest situations, and although Elise has zero experience, Clare found ways to keep the heat level high while taking Elise on her sexual journey.
I really adored both Elise and Rome as the main characters. I thought Elise’s history was really well developed, and I loved her little insecurities and shy tendencies. It made her super relatable and the kind of heroine that I felt like I could be friends with. Likewise, although Rome was a bad boy on the outside, I loved the fact that the more time we got to spend in his head, the more we realized what a softie he was. I loved his kind heart and sweet disposition.
The introduction of Rome’s brother as a secondary character was fun to read as well. Now that the core group of Bluebonnet heroes and heroines have found their happily ever after, it’s nice to know that Clare is *hopefully* planning on continuing with the series in a new direction. I like that Rome’s brother also has the bad boy thing going on, and hope we get to see more of both him and the town of Bluebonnet in future books.
All in all, I thought Clare did an awesome job writing a steamy romance with a virgin heroine. I loved the progression of Elise and Rome’s friendship from Elise running scared every time she saw him, to friends, lovers, and then some. The sex scenes were super hot, and at the same time the romance developed at a great pace. I can’t wait for more.
I give The Virgin’s Guide to Misbehaving a B